The Photography Studio

Early Morning

kanniduba5 Comments

When Zan and I got married, we moved into an apartment in Downtown Saratoga Springs and remained there  for nearly six years.  Living in Saratoga Springs, one develops a true love/hate relationship with the Saratoga Race Track.  The first day, you love it, and the rest of the Meet is all about hate.  The crowds, the traffic, the bats that invade apartment buildings once the stables are opened, the infinite wait at your favorite restaurants, the no-table-situation at the cafe you live in year-round…the fact that you must run all your errands between the hours of noon and five because that’s when all the tourists are at the track, the fact that you must stay away from Downtown and the Mall on Tuesdays because that’s the day when the track is dark.  However, when you move away, all the hate fades, and you long every August to be back in Saratoga to soak up the energy the opening of the track brings to the city.  You fondly remember being stuck in traffic at crosswalks while the horses cross the road to the stables….you fondly remember getting up in the early misty morning to go to your favorite cafe before all the tourists hit the streets…you remember how good you got at avoiding the crowds and remember with pride that you were once “a local.” 

We left Saratoga twelve years ago to move back to my hometown.  We are very happy here, and although I have no regrets, I feel my old home’s gravitational pull all the time.  Though I can’t fathom leaving here, at times I wonder if we might end up back there someday, as though it’s an inevitable fate.

I share with you my very favorite time of day in August at the track in Saratoga Springs…6:30am.  All is quiet, the town is just beginning to stir, and yet the track is alive in the cool morning sunshine—the horses exercising and getting ready for their day, the trainers intimately sharing time on the vacant grounds with their charges.  It’s peaceful, it’s beautiful, and it’s worth the early morning wake-up to visit this historic place before it’s filled with screaming, smoking, betting race fans.  This is the Saratoga I love.

Get Thinking…

kanniduba4 Comments

I was going to wait until September to get started, however the deadline for this International Contest is October 31st and I wanted to give you all enough time.  Okay, so, yes the competition is fierce.  And I know many of you are thinking, “No WAY can I enter this contest.”  However, I would encourage you all to take a look at some of your best work…especially the people shots you have already taken.  I believe some of the work I’ve seen within our little community could indeed compete quite honorably.  So, what if you were actually working toward “the shot?”  Imagine what you could do!!  And what the heck…if you’re going to go for it, you might as well GO FOR IT!  What have any of us got to lose?  On the other hand, what have we got to gain?  The quest for inspiration begins.

I challenge each of you to enter just one photo in one category…People, Landscapes, or Animals.  And I also encourage you to create a new photograph specifically for entering this contest.  No oldies-but-goodies allowed (unless you want to enter more than one photo.)  The deadline is October 31st and all the rules are available here.  Link to your entries here in the comments.  I will add a page over there————–> to keep this visible.  Good luck and happy growing!

Note:  There is a $.12 entry fee for each photo received before October 15th, and then it jumps to $10.00 afterwards.  So let’s all shoot (no pun intended) for that October 15th date.  I hate spending money for this sort of thing and I’m sure I’m not alone…12 cents I can handle.

 

Scratch that idea.  Thanks Karma for pointing out my error. Crappy Crap.  Oh, well.  Screw inspiration.  I’m selling my bloody camera.   Who’s with me?

Teaser…

kanniduba3 Comments

Coming in September…a new challenge.

“Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.” -Ben Nicholas

“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.” -Frank Tibolt

“Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning.” -Igor Stravinsky

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” -Jack London

“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.” -Rudolf Nureyev

*cue epic music*

I will take the last weeks of August to enjoy being a schlump, and then I will begin my quest for inspiration through persperation.  Anyone care to join me?

Addendum:  And whilst we’re waxing philosophical, a group of articles to read through and ponder…have I fallen into this trap?  Have you?